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Can't keep up!!

I will take any advice anyone has to offer. I breastfed 2 previous children for a total of 4 years, and never had a problem... But my newborn (now 7 weeks) started daycare this week as I had to go back to work. The problem is that I am not pumping nearly as much milk as he is drinking during the day.

I am using a medela pump in style, pumping both sides at once... I am pumping at 10, feeding him at 12, and pumping at 2 and 4. On Monday I did ok I got 4-5 oz at 10, and another 4-5 oz between the 2 afternoon sessions which matched what he ate at daycare, but yesterday and today despite following the same schedule I have only been able to pump 5 oz total for the day - and he has been taking 15 oz by bottle during the day in addition to my feeding him at 12.

At this point he has completely depleted the 'extra' milk I had stored up in preparation for returning to work and unless I can come up with 10 oz of breast milk between now and noon tomorrow he is going to wind up having to take formula tomorrow afternoon.

I saw that someone had posted a link to a video on the sticky topic ... But unfortunately I cannot view the video on my apple because it does not support flash.

Re: Can't keep up!!

Originally Posted by @llli*backatwork

I will take any advice anyone has to offer. I breastfed 2 previous children for a total of 4 years, and never had a problem... But my newborn (now 7 weeks) started daycare this week as I had to go back to work. The problem is that I am not pumping nearly as much milk as he is drinking during the day.

I am using a medela pump in style, pumping both sides at once... I am pumping at 10, feeding him at 12, and pumping at 2 and 4. On Monday I did ok I got 4-5 oz at 10, and another 4-5 oz between the 2 afternoon sessions which matched what he ate at daycare, but yesterday and today despite following the same schedule I have only been able to pump 5 oz total for the day - and he has been taking 15 oz by bottle during the day in addition to my feeding him at 12.

At this point he has completely depleted the 'extra' milk I had stored up in preparation for returning to work and unless I can come up with 10 oz of breast milk between now and noon tomorrow he is going to wind up having to take formula tomorrow afternoon.

I saw that someone had posted a link to a video on the sticky topic ... But unfortunately I cannot view the video on my apple because it does not support flash.

If anyone has any ideas I would appreciate your help!

This is too much. He's being overfed. A baby his age should be taking in between 24-32 oz in a 24hour period. So if you are away from his for 8hours he outside MOST intake should be 12oz. If you are gone for 12hours, than 15oz would be the outside most. But with you actually feeding him at 12 it's likely that he ate between 17 and 18oz during the day. Send more smaller quantity bottle. With 2-3oz in them. Because a bottle during the day should mimic what a child will take in from your breasts. Which would be at MOST between 2-3 oz. And DCP are usually sort of clueless about BF children. They e4xpect them to eat the way formula kids need to be fed. Which is MORE LESS OFTEN. So your child is probably wanting to be picked up more often (Because that is what he is used to) and they assume that every time they pick him up they need to feed him. Remember just because he WILL empty a bottle doesn't mean he NEEDS to eat that much. Send smaller bottles. IF he needs more they can get out another. But I'd bet he will be happier emptying a smaller bottle.

Re: Can't keep up!!

Originally Posted by @llli*djs.mom

This is too much. He's being overfed. A baby his age should be taking in between 24-32 oz in a 24hour period. So if you are away from his for 8hours he outside MOST intake should be 12oz. If you are gone for 12hours, than 15oz would be the outside most. But with you actually feeding him at 12 it's likely that he ate between 17 and 18oz during the day. Send more smaller quantity bottle. With 2-3oz in them. Because a bottle during the day should mimic what a child will take in from your breasts. Which would be at MOST between 2-3 oz. And DCP are usually sort of clueless about BF children. They e4xpect them to eat the way formula kids need to be fed. Which is MORE LESS OFTEN. So your child is probably wanting to be picked up more often (Because that is what he is used to) and they assume that every time they pick him up they need to feed him. Remember just because he WILL empty a bottle doesn't mean he NEEDS to eat that much. Send smaller bottles. IF he needs more they can get out another. But I'd bet he will be happier emptying a smaller bottle.

What kind of bottle and nipple are you using? I bet that's the problem. He is draining those bottles fast and they are shoving another in there, and he's getting too much milk.

However, since you pumped just 5 oz that one day, there's something else afoot. Is your pump OK? How long are you pumping? Are you using compressions? That sort of thing. Those can help you maximize the amount of milk you express at each session.

Re: Can't keep up!!

Thank you everybody!

Yesterday morning I was able to pump another 3 oz after his first morning feeding, and I told day care not to feed him more than 3 oz at a time so we made it through yesterday without having to use formula!

I was still only able to pump 6 oz while at work yesterday though I brought the pump home again, and pumped 5 1/2 oz after his first morning feeding today so we should make it through the day today too. (yay!)

Obviously it would be much more ideal if I was able to pump the amount he is eating at the time he is eating it though. Do you think it possible that it is just the work environment that is the issue?

Re: Can't keep up!!

Originally Posted by @llli*backatwork

Thank you everybody!

Yesterday morning I was able to pump another 3 oz after his first morning feeding, and I told day care not to feed him more than 3 oz at a time so we made it through yesterday without having to use formula!

I was still only able to pump 6 oz while at work yesterday though I brought the pump home again, and pumped 5 1/2 oz after his first morning feeding today so we should make it through the day today too. (yay!)

Obviously it would be much more ideal if I was able to pump the amount he is eating at the time he is eating it though. Do you think it possible that it is just the work environment that is the issue?

Maybe the environment has something to do with it. When I pump in the car, I get half what I would be getting at home.

Re: Can't keep up!!

He is still so young; you guys will definitely get the hang of it.

One thing that helps me is that I get to work about 25min before my day starts (hubby takes the kids to daycare) so that I can pump BEFORE I have to punch the clock. That way, I can still pump an additional three times (once on a morning break, once during lunch, once on an afternoon break) if I need to; since I'm such a though, I usually just need two additional sessions to get what I need.